Member Reviews
3.5 stars!
Teenage girls go missing and are all found murdered, this is a multi PoV given from a mother whom is desperate to keep her daughter safe now that teenage girls are being murdered close to their home. The other povs are from a cop on the case and the anonymous killer. It's merely a race against time as the killer continues to strike again and again, will the cops find the killer and seek justice for the girls?
I want to start of by saying I liked this book I thought it was fast pace but however the part about the car accident and John being in love with Charlotte just didn't need to be in there to me and it kind of felt like two different novels at times for that reasons. I did see the big reveal coming before it happened but that didn't take anything away from it, the book was still well written and I highly enjoyed it. I will be picking up more books by this author in the future .
Well I was excited to acquire a copy of Pretty Little Things by T.M.E. Walsh, a first for me, I had never laid eyes on any book by T.M.E. Walsh, but after reading her newest acquisition I’m well prepared to rectify my mistakes and obtain any I have missed.
Pretty Little Things fires from the starting block at high speed, the thoughts of a serial killer come alive through the first few pages, inserting you fully into the mind of a gruesome and dark person with death on their mind.
Charlotte the main character is still recovering from a near fatal car crash six months previously. Charlotte is left feeling vulnerable and anxious, the increased memory lapses since her head trauma are driving a wedge between herself and her family. Now teenagers are going missing, turning up dead, and Ellie Charlottes daughter bears the brunt of her mothers over-protectiveness.
Walsh stimulates the readers mind with a huge dollop of can you see it, can you evade it, can you save them, well I thought I saw it, I never escaped it. So many questions can I find the answers.
Walsh enticed me into Pretty Little Things and straight away I became tangled up in the web of secrets and lies. I was hoping to see if I could detect the killer. Well I can tell you this for every cut and turn, every snide hint, I still managed to get it completely wrong. Walsh defeated me hands down and pulled the wool over my eyes with that astounding ending.
Thanks to HQ Digital UK and T.M.E. Walsh for an advanced readers copy of Pretty Little Things in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Six months ago Charlotte was in a wreck that nearly made her lose everything. With a new outlook on life, she's determined to keep her family, and her daughter Elle, safe. When teenage girls around Elle's age start to go missing, Charlotte becomes even more fearful. What began as girls going missing turns into a murder investigation that hits all too close to home. As the investigation continues, they dig deeper into the lives of the people they call friends and neighbors, they uncover secrets more terrible than they ever imagined… This book is dark, creepy, and full of twists and turns. This book kept me awake at night because I'm terrified of being taken, but more so because it was so creepy. As I was reading I kept thinking I was putting the pieces together, but the ending was a twist I NEVER saw coming. If you're looking for a dark thriller- I definitely recommend this book!
This book is creepily good! It was very fast paced and disturbing. I LOVED IT. The characters are great and the storyline is well done. It is difficult to write a review without putting in spoilers but it is written true to form. Fantastic job
TME Walsh is a mystery magician. I loved the unreliability of Charlotte and how it left me questioning a lot of what was going on. This book is a must read if you love a good crime mystery!
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review..
I enjoyed reading T.M.E Walsh's three books in the DCI Claire Winters series, So I was excited when I heard the author was due to release a new book featuring DI Madeleine Wood.
Pretty Little Fears is not for the squeamish. There was a killer at work targeting teenage girls in the small villages around Milton Keynes. Four girls were missing until they were found by kids in a disused holiday village. The girls dead bodies were buried up to their faces like a Macabre bed.
Nurse Charlotte Monroe was recovering from a traumatic car crash which nearly killed her. Charlotte could not remember what happened before the crash, six months she was still suffering memory lapses and could not always remember conversations. When one of friends daughter goes missing, Charlotte starts to fear for the safety of her daughter Elle.
Charlotte immediately wants to wrap Elle in cotton wool, stopping Elle from attending a friend's party and postponing Elles birthday party. Charlotte husband Iain disagrees, and thinks she is too immersed in the murderers causing problems in their already ailing marriage. In the background is John who was driving behind Charlotte before the crash, and witnessed the other driver in a HGV talking on his mobile at the time of the accident. . Iain took a dislike to John and told her not to see him again., which she ignored.
Newly promoted DI Madeleine Wood is given the task of investigating the killings. She is married with two children who she never sees. Madeline is annoyed she was assigned the case because the other DI's would not touch the case.
Phew, there is so much more I could tell you, but I don't want to ruin the story. It was cleverly crafted story with multiple layers. There were so many suspects to choose from, I blamed everyone but the real killer. The story was told from the POV of Charlotte. Madeleine and the killer who described themselves as anonymous.
I felt sorry for Charlotte who was obviously suffering from PTSD, However I did not like her. She was very insecure and on the brink of hysteria, I could understand why she wanted to protect Elle but she could not see her behaviour was alienating Elle. I liked Madeleine and her team, I hope if there is another book we find out more about her personal life.
OMG, the conclusion of this story was out of this world. The killers confession left me feeling cold, the dialogue was so well written it will stay with me in the days to come. I recommend this book, if I could award more than five stars I would.
I quite enjoyed this book...but the ending totally ruined it for me. It was all just a bit too ridiculous for me. It is a psychological thriller about a serial killer and certainly had enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Charlotte left me wanting to give her a shake up due to her erratic decision making! I had been looking forward to reading this book as I had heard some really good reviews about it. Sadly, it just didn't work for me. That aside, make up your own mind. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Amazon, Goodreads and Facebook.
Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This was a really brilliant thriller about Charlotte and her family and had me guessing right to the end. Would recommend this to other readers
There was a huge twist at the end that I didn't see coming. I really enjoyed the mystery as well as the twist, although I think the author needs to do a bit more research on DID before committing to the entire end. You don't always have another person living inside you as the book would suggest. You split off AFTER a traumatic event occurs in childhood. I believe if you rewrite that part, it will make more sense.
I loved this book. It began slow and picked up a pace that made the book unputdownable. Through the twists and turns of this story, one has suspicions about who the culprit is. But, the ending came out of nowhere. It was really interesting to see how all the odds and ends added up. A good read.
Didn’t see that one coming!! I can very happily recommend this book, it’s very descriptive, engaging and keeps you turning the pages. I would have read this in one go but had to stop as was on my lunch break ! Couldn’t wait to pick it up again. The plot twists and turns and is a clever mix of horror, crime and modern day family relationships. The ending was totally unexpected yet believable.
Missing girls' bodies have been found - half buried with traces of mud and wildflowers under their fingernails . Whoa !!!!! A truly gruesome , throat clutching serial killer thriller that you won't soon forget ! A shocking plot twist you won't see coming ! Highly recommend if you love a good psychological thriller ! This author is a master storyteller ! Thanks to #Netgalley and #HQDigital for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review ! #PrettyLittleThings @T.M.E.Walsh @HQDigital @Netgalley
I was very excited to read Pretty Little Things. A psychological thriller with unexpected twists described as the ultimate page turner - I say, "Give me that anytime!"
The book starts really well - police trying to catch a serial killer when four dead bodies of teenage girls are found in a dumpster. The main story teller is a local woman - Charlotte who has a teenage daughter of her own and is sick with worries about her. Charlotte had a serious car accident six months ago and is lucky to be alive. She is trying to get her life back on track with a support from her husband and best friend.
For a thriller, I thought the pace of the book was a little slow to start with. There is a lot of focus on Charlotte and her family and hardly any insight into the police investigation. The pace picks up at about 40% and the turn of events gets exciting. There are new twists to the story and we are completely kept in the dark about who the killer is.
The big I-did-not-see-that-coming moment comes when the killer is finally revealed. I believe this is the main reason why most people rate this book with 5 stars. Without giving anything away, I will just say that the killer's identity is truly shocking and I admit that I was totally clueless myself. But unfortunately, the killer reveal twist felt too far fetched for me and I couldn't make myself buy the story, no matter how much I wanted to.
Nonetheless, the book is well written with a gruesome plotline and can make a good holiday read, if you can let your imagination go wild towards the end of the book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for an e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This was an excellently written book - fast paced and absorbing, I cant score it higher as for me to felt a too scary and believable & it made me feel uncomfortable reading it, especially as the parent of 2 girls.... but thats just a personal thing. The detail would probably appealed to lovers of the genre and i would recommend to readers who like to be on the edge of their seat (I'm more a behind the cushion reader!)
Pretty Little Things was nothing like I expected. A twisted serial killer, gritty murder cops, a mom determined to keep her daughter safe – it had all the elements to make a gripping, ‘unputdownable’ psychological thriller. But the feelings it ended up evoking in me were pity and sadness. I want a psychological thriller to thrill, excite, and make me look over my shoulder, not feel sorry for the guilty party. Also, I felt the story drag in some parts. I usually read very fast, but this book took me a while to get through.
I received an advance reader’s copy on Netgalley.
What a fantastic psychological thriller! I have not read any of this author’s previous books but will certainly be catching up on them now. Where do I start? Charlotte was involved in an accident where she nearly lost her life. Her memory has been affected by this and she is suffering from PSTD from the accident. In the village where she lives with her husband and teenage daughter, young girls are going missing and Charlotte becomes obsessed about her daughter’s safety as it seems that there is a serial killer on the loose. DI Madeleine Wood and her team are investigating the case and she is so dedicated that her home life is suffering.
This book grabs you from the start and you will not be able to put it down. It is told mainly by Charlotte, with chapters from Madeleine and from Anon. This book is so addictive , so unpredictable, with a massive twist near the end that will blow your mind! If you are a lover of psychological thrillers then this is the book for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
Wow!
What a rollercoaster ride this book was, I almost gave up at the beginning thinking I had figured out who was the killer, boy was I wrong and gob smacked when I got to the ending.
An edge of the seat thriller!
Thanks HQ Digital for the arc and #netgalley.
I have been itching to read T.M.E Walsh’s DCI Claire Winters series for a while now and after finishing Pretty Little Things I have bumped them right to the top of my TBR pile. Seriously, why haven’t I got round to reading them sooner? Pretty Little Things is one heck of a psychological thriller, T.ME. Walsh writes so well and she kept me flicking the pages.
At the beginning of the novel, we delve straight into the mind of a serial killer. This was a seriously creepy opening that set the tone of the book straight away; I was utterly gripped from the first sentence. We then move forward to where the police make a shocking discovery. They have finally located the bodies of four young girls who were previously reported missing. Charlotte, who is one of the central characters in this book is distraught as she is friends with the mother of one of the murdered girls. But as Charlotte and the rest of the town come to terms with the discovery, another young girl goes missing, after all this time is the killer back?
T.M.E Walsh certainly delivers on tension. She gets into the heads of her characters really well, especially Charlotte. Undoubtedly she is fearful for her daughter’s safety given what has happened in the town and this is one of the main sources of tension in the book as her daughter rebels against her. I wanted to know what was going to happen to them and there was a strong sense of foreboding which carried through right to the end of the novel, you know that things aren’t going to be plain sailing for Charlotte and her family.
There were times where I thought I had worked out who the killer was. But there was a twist which really took me by surprise, it was one of those flooring moments which really leaves you praising the author. At this point I’m finding this review really difficult to write as I don’t want to give anything away, but let me tell you, it’s one of those twists which will have you looking back. I thought it was weaved really well into the story.
One character who I would have liked to have learnt more about is DI Madeleine Wood, who is the officer in charge of the case. I enjoyed the scenes which featured her, so I’m hoping that she may return in a future book. But primarily this story is Claire’s and it is definitely more of a psychological thriller than a police procedural.
This was an absolutely riveting read from T.M.E Walsh. I’m really looking forward to catching up on her previous books and she is a writer who is now firmly on my radar.
I enjoyed this book but it had a similar feel to a well known Sarah Pinborough book. Hated the Charlotte character and felt the beginning was a bit disjointed
Nice one.
Seriously, it’s a wicked plot. The solution comes completely out of left field, it’s a bit like being slapped unexpectedly up the side of the head with a really fat wet kipper, and then just standing there completely dumbstruck. *Bows down to the author*
It’s fair to say that things haven’t been the same for Charlotte since she was involved in a nearly fatal accident a few months ago. Her face is scarred, which makes her feel insecure, and her memory is as reliable as a leaky tap. The difference is you can fix or replace a tap, whereas Charlotte can’t be fixed and sometimes has no idea whether she is coming or going.
Her insecurities and post-traumatic stress have become consistently worse, especially because she refuses to seek any medical attention. Her husband has started to look elsewhere for comfort, her daughter resents the control issues her mother has, and Charlotte herself has become too attached to the man who saved her life.
Everything comes to a head when the corpses of young girls are found. There is a predator on the loose and Charlotte is determined to make sure her daughter doesn’t become one of his next victims, because the killer has already struck too close to home for comfort.
Walsh writes a compelling piece of crime with fascinating characters, and the plotting is done with an almost criminal air of nonchalance. With a kind of cheeky disregard for what the reader might have been expecting, which is incredibly clever from a plot perspective.
I will definitely be reading more by this author in future. I always appreciate a devious mind and a storyteller who is willing to bend the rules in order to deliver a read one won’t easily forget. It messes with your head, but in a nice evil way.